by Catherine Drinker Bowen

This book had been deep in my Amazon to-read list for a while. I added it at the time I was reading Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow several years ago. I especially liked in that book the description of the people, circumstances, and events surrounding the creation of the U.S. Constitution. I knew at some point I would want to learn more about its formation beyond the role played by Alexander Hamilton. 

The Constitution being short in length belies its momentous and unlikely genesis. Hence, the title of the book, taken from a letter Madison sent to Hamilton following the end of the Federal Convention and final drafting of the U.S. Constitution,

“It is impossible to consider the degree of concord which ultimately prevailed as less than a miracle.”

I had not appreciated how tenuous things were for the states at this time. The Articles of Confederation had provided a basic operating agreement for the States to follow during their 8 years of war. The colonies won but the weaknesses of this Confederation were known long before the war’s end.